"Aala re aala"- Fans react as Jofra Archer returns to MI playing XI after injury lay-off for IPL 2023 clash vs PBKS

After a short injury hiatus, Jofra Archer has made a comeback to Mumbai Indians (MI) playing XI for their IPL 2023 match against Punjab Kings (PBKS). The match is set to take place on Saturday, April 22, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Home team captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bowl first at the venue, which is traditionally a batting paradise. Shikhar Dhawan continues to remain on the sidelines as he recovers from an injury issue. Sam Curran will once again lead the Punjab side in his absence.

PBKS went in with the same XI from the previous game, while MI replaced Riley Meredith with Archer.

Here are the playing XIs:

Mumbai Indians XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Cameron Green, Tim David, Hrithik Shokeen, Arjun Tendulkar, Jofra Archer, Piyush Chawla, Jason Behrendorff

Impact Subs for MI: Ramandeep Singh, Kumar Kartikeya, Shams Mulani, Vishnu Vinod, Nehal Wadhera

Punjab Kings XI: Atharva Taide, Prabhsimran Singh, Matthew Short, Harpreet Bhatia, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sam Curran (c), Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh

Impact Subs for PBKS: Nathan Ellis, Mohit Rathee, Sikandar Raza, Rishi Dhawan, Gurnoor Brar

Mumbai fans were elated upon learning about the comeback of ace pacer Jofra Archer and welcomed him back into the team with their reactions on Twitter. Here are some of the best reactions:

Great news for us.

Jofra Archer has recovered from the injury and he is playing tonight.. https://t.co/J9oGtxkSbV

Jofra Archer is playing for Mumbai Indians. Welcome back boy 🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/ihVwuxbu7e

Those 3 Magical Words are - " Jofra is Back "

@JofraArcher https://t.co/sSIy9uggpQ

Jofra Archer playing for Mumbai Indians today. https://t.co/RIWGnnMSdS

@mipaltan Jofra is back
Pls bring back his form🤌

Jofra archer back twitter.com/mipaltan/statu… https://t.co/tWUJ6tsPUV

Jofra Archer making his home debut for MI then ❤️
Finally!!

#CricketTwitter #MIvPBKS

@Iam__Radhi @JofraArcher Jofra is ready 🕺 https://t.co/IEDQAX5RqD

@mipaltan @JofraArcher Great news for us 💙

King @JofraArcher playing Today 💙👑

Am I the only one who isn't happy with the inclusion of Jofra Archer in the team..... 😘

Jofra is back.
I hope he does well and bring some serious heat 🔥
@mipaltan @JofraArcher #MIvsPBKS

Jofra back in to the action 😍😍🔥🔥🔥🔥
#IPL2O23 #jofraarcher #LSGvGT

Aala re aala @JofraArcher aala @mipaltan #OneFamily #palatan #bluearmy💙💙

"Good to have Jofra back for us"- MI skipper Rohit Sharma after winning the toss

Speaking after the toss, Rohit Sharma was glad to have Jofra Archer back in the side. He revealed that the atmosphere in the team was great as they won three matches on the trot. Sharma said:

"We will have a bowl. Really nice to have some wins under the belt. Winning is always nice, the atmosphere is good. The job is not done yet, we have to start fresh for every game and get it from here. Nice and pleasant weather which is not the case in Mumbai at this point of time."

He added:

"Yes, we did had some injury issues but you cannot do much about. Good to have Jofra back for us, that’s the only change. It’s a good pitch. Wankhede traditionally is always good to bat and it keeps getting better. Hopefully we can restrict them to a good score and chase it down later."

Do you think MI will win the match? Sound off in the comments section.